Four wheeled foot propelled childs toy vehicle steered by balance of rider

ABSTRACT

A vehicle has a circular ring shaped platform frame supported by three swivelled castors. A paddle wheel-seat assembly is spring mounted on the platform in a position for the paddle wheel to engage the floor surface in the center of the ring shaped platform. The mounting for the paddle wheel assembly restricts movement laterally but permits vertical movement so the wheel under weight of a rider overcomes the spring bias to engage the floor surface. A rider propels the vehicle by paddling the wheel, and steers it by balancing or leaning to one side.

United States Patent 1191 McLellan FOUR WHEELED FOOT PROPELLED CHILDS TOY VEHICLE STEERED BY BALANCE OF RIDER [76] Inventor: Reedy E. McLellan, Box 69, Durant,

MiSS. 39063 [22] Filed: Feb. 20, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 333,520

[ 52] US. Cl. 280/259, 280/205 [51] Int. Cl B621 9/00 [58] Field Of Search 280/205, 259, 266, 282, 280/274, 283; 272/73, 70.3, 33 B [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,140,880 7/1915 Jahnke 280/259 1,668,784 5/1928 Savage 280/259 2,178,708 11/1939 Snell 280/274 2,198,813 4/1940 Hall 280/87.02 W X 2,548,749 4/1951 Stout 280/259 1111 3,829,127 1451 Aug. 13,1974

2,670,970 3/1954 Simonson et a1.

2,920,904 1/1960 Doud et a1.... 280/205 2,950,127 8/1960 Phillips 280/205 X 3,580,569 5/1971 Wilson 272/703 3,700,058 10/1972 Kuwahara 180/21 Primary Examiner-Kenneth H. Betts Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Laurence R. Brown [5 7] ABSTRACT A vehicle has a circular ring shaped platform frame supported by three swivelled castors. A paddle wheelseat assembly is spring mounted on the platform in a position for the paddle wheel to engage the floor surface in the center of the ring shaped platform. The mounting for the paddle wheel assembly restricts movement laterally but permits vertical movement so the wheel under weight of a rider overcomes the spring bias to engage the floor surface. A rider propels the vehicle by paddling the wheel, and steers it by balancing or leaning to one side.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures FOUR WHEELED FOOT PROPELLED CHILDS TOY VEHICLE STEERED BY BALANCE OF RIDER This invention relates to toy vehicles and more particularly it relates to toy vehicles propelled by pedalling and steered by balance of the rider.

Toys become useful if they teach children skills such as physical coordination and balance and provide a medium for physical exercise.

Accordingly, it is the object of this invention to provide improved toy vehicles achieving the aforesaid advantages.

Therefore in accordance with this invention there is provided a wheeled vehicle having a frame mounted on three swivelled castor wheels. A paddle wheel assembly with a unicycle type riding seat is then mounted to let the drive wheel pass through the frame and contact the floor surface with the castor wheels at a position substantially centered between them. The paddle wheel assembly is spring mounted for biased vertical movement and is laterally restrained to permit frictional contact of the drive wheel on the surface by weight of a rider overcoming the spring bias, and thus permitting the vehicle to be rolled more easily on the three castors without a rider. The drive wheel has pedals so that it is foot-propelled and steering is accomplished by balance and foot pressure of the rider as in a unicycle.

Further objectives, features and advantages of the invention will be recognized by consideration of the following more detailed description of the invention and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows in perspective view a vehicle constructed in accordance with the invention being ridden and propelled;

FIG. 2 shows in elevation side view the vehicle without a rider; and

FIG. 3 shows the vehicle in plan view.

Referring now to the drawing, the vehicle has a circular ring shaped platform frame supported by three swivelled castor wheels 11, 12 spaced about the ring at three positions on the circumference of a circle. Thus, the frame can be rolled about on a floor or similar surface 14 by the castor action.

The ring shaped frame 10 provides a central access passageway 15 which permits a drive paddle wheel 16 to pass through for contact with the floor surface conjointly with the castor wheels. The drive wheel 16 is mounted (by means not detailed such as a bicycle wheel mount) for rotation by pedalling pedals 13. The mount comprises a pair of lateral bars 17, 18 which are spaced apart by cross members 19 at each end, for example.

The bar mount assembly is spring mounted at the front end (relative to the rider and seat) by means of coil springs 21 about bolts 22 thereby confining lateral movement but permitting spring biased vertical movement when a rider mounts the seat to let the paddle drive wheel 16 then firmly frictionally engage the floor surface 14. Thus, without the weight of a rider, the drive wheel 16 is supported to contact the floor surface 14 very lightly by action of the springs 21 as shown in FIG. 2 to permit the vehicle to be moved by castor action when riderless without substantial friction braking of the drive wheel 16.

Also, the rear end bar mount assembly confines lateral movement while permitting a range of vertical movement, as provided by the generally U-shaped bracket 311 confining the ends of the two lateral bars 17, 18 for vertical movement within the confines of the frame 10 and the top of the bracket 30. Thus, the entire paddle wheel assembly floats vertically in the mount, so that the drive wheel 16 is substantially pivoted at the front on springs 21 and thereby contacts the floor surface 14 regardless of tire tread wear, weight of rider, etc. The seat 32 is mounted unicycle style on the fork assembly 31 and is affixed to the rotatable paddle drive wheel 16. A further stabilizing bracket support member 33 is affixed to the rear end cross member (not shown) spacing the lateral bars 17, 18 apart.

Accordingly, when a rider 40 is on the vehicle it is confined against turnover by the castor wheels 11, 12, but may provide unicycle action as the rider pedals for propelling the vehicle and balances: for steering it. Note that the spring 21 and bracket 30 mounting means provides for a pivoting motion of the entire paddle wheel assembly about the lateral bar mount since the springs 21 and bracket 30 will confine upward vertical movement of one lateral bar 17 or 18 and permit downward vertical movement of the other bar. Thereby, a rider may lean to one side or the other and the friction pressure on the drive wheel by the balance and the foot pressure on the pedals will cause the vehicle to be steered to the right or left.

One castor wheel 12 is preferably mounted at the rear below the confining bracket 30 with the two front castor wheels 11 being spaced on opposite sides'of the front spring suspension mounting to provide better support and balance for the rider and at the same time to enhance the steering action.

- For typical dimensions for this vehicle the castor wheels 11, 12 are mounted at the circumference of a 26 inch circle, and the paddle drive wheel is 12 inches in diameter. As the size of the paddle wheel increases the size of the mounting circle should also increase to keep a proper balance ratio for the rider.

In the steering operation if the rider leans to one side, pedal pressure is applied to the opposite side.

. Having therefore set forth the nature of the invention and the details of construction of a preferred embodiment thereof, the features of novelty believed descriptive of the spirit and scope of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A wheeled vehicle comprising in combination, a frame having a plurality of swivelled castor wheels disposed thereon for rolling on a surface such as a floor, and having an access passageway substantially centrally located between the wheels, drive and steering means constituting a paddle wheel assembly with a seat thereon for riding and a drive wheel rotatable by pedaling, and structure mounting said assembly with the drive wheel extending through said access passageway and including spring mounting means urging the drive wheel away from the surface to thereby contact the surface conjointly with said castor wheels with the weight 7 of an operator on said seat.

2. A wheeled vehicle comprising in combination, a frame having a plurality of swivelled castor wheels disposed thereon for rolling on a surface such as a floor, and having an access passageway substantially centrally located betweenthe wheels, a paddle wheel assembly with a seat thereon for riding and a drive wheel rotatable by pedaling, and structure mounting said assembly degree of vertical movement of the bars and paddle wheel affixed thereto and mounted to the frame at the other end of the bars.

3. A vehicle as defined in claim 2 having one castor wheel mounted below said confining bracket and two castor wheels mounted respectively on opposite sides of said spring suspension mounting. 

1. A wheeled vehicle comprising in combination, a frame having a plurality of swivelled castor wheels disposed thereon for rolling on a surface such as a floor, and having an access passageway substantially centrally located between the wheels, drive and steering means constituting a paddle wheel assembly with a seat thereon for riding and a drive wheel rotatable by pedaling, and structure mounting said assembly with the drive wheel extending through said access passageway and including spring mounting means urging the drive wheel away from the surface to thereby contact the surface conjointly with said castor wheels with the weight of an operator on said seat.
 2. A wheeled vehicle comprising in combination, a frame having a plurality of swivelled castor wheels disposed thereon for rolling on a surface such as a floor, and having an access passageway substantially centrally located between the wheels, a paddle wheel assembly with a seat thereon for riding and a drive wheel rotatable by pedaling, and structure mounting said assembly with the drive wheel extending through said access passageway to contact thE surface conjointly with said castor wheels wherein the structure includes lateral restraining means permitting said assembly to move in place vertically up and down from said surface but not laterally comprising a pair of lateral bars between which the paddle wheel is rotatably affixed, a spring suspension mounting said bars at one end to said frame, and a confining bracket about said bars permitting a degree of vertical movement of the bars and paddle wheel affixed thereto and mounted to the frame at the other end of the bars.
 3. A vehicle as defined in claim 2 having one castor wheel mounted below said confining bracket and two castor wheels mounted respectively on opposite sides of said spring suspension mounting. 